North Korea fires missile into Japanese waters

North Korea has fired another missile off its east coast, South Korea’s military said,as the regime seeks to build nuclear-tipped ICBMs that can reach the US mainland.

The missile landed inside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, in the Sea of Japan. Yoshihide Suga, a spokesman for the Japanese government, said it had strongly protested the launch to Pyongyang. There were no reports of damage, he said.

“This ballistic missile launch by North Korea is highly problematic from the perspective of the safety of shipping and air traffic and is a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions,” Suga told reporters in televised remarks.

“Japan absolutely cannot tolerate North Korea’s repeated provocative actions. We have strongly protested to North Korea and condemn its actions in the strongest terms.”

A statement by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch came from around the eastern North Korean coastal town of Wonsan. The military said it was a short-range Scud missilethat flew about 450km (280 miles). Continue reading.